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3 Secrets For Your Next Interview
 

WallStreetOasis.com's picture
EN
(Human, 12,074
 
Points)
 on 9/18/12 at 6:30pm
Interview Guides

Hey Monkeys,

We are in the middle of recruiting season so I wanted to make sure you are ready to go. Here are 3 secrets so you can come out ahead:

  1. Don't Underestimate Behavioral Interview Questions. Most of you are probably already studying the Technical Interview Guide so that you can answer these questions with confidence, but how many of you have polished your story? This is what makes the difference between an A candidate and an A+ candidate. Are you confident? A few weeks ago we released a new and improved Behavioral Interview Guide with even more sample questions and SAMPLE ANSWERS. Pick up the Investment Banking Prep Pack which combines the Technical Guide with Flashcards, the Behavioral Guide and the Networking Guide and saves you $30! There is a reason the WSO guides are the industry standard...we guide you step by step so you can ace your interview.

  2. Slow down and breathe. No matter what you hear in the forums, you won't die if you mess up a question. Slow down and take the time to clear your thoughts before diving head first into an answer. Silence and pauses can display confidence and "ummmmms" can show weakness. Gather your thoughts and then proceed to shock them with your rock solid technical skills and genuine answers to the fit questions.

  3. PRACTICE now and practice often. Either get a Wall Street Mentor to do a mock interview with you and/or find a friend that you can practice with incessantly that can give you a realistic interview. We can't emphasize this enough...you need to mess up 100 times before you really become a skilled interviewer. Would you wait until the day of an athletic event to run through a mock session? Then why are you so reluctant to practice out loud in realistic setting. Even better, if you can video tape yourself, you may find some horrifying tendencies that you can fix now. Want to watch how the competition is answering those questions? Check out the WSO Video Library.

I wish you all the best of luck. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.

CRUSH IT!

- Patrick

ps - We also recently released a new and improved WSO Networking Guide. If you already own the Behavioral Interview Guide or WSO Networking Guide, please forward a copy (from the same e-mail you have stamped on the PDF) to [email protected] and she will get you a copy of the latest version...

pps - Please let us hear about your success in our Success Stories forum. We love hearing from our members breaking in. Make your fellow primates proud!

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Comments

SonnyZH's picture

Hey Patrick, if we have

HF
 
Points)
 on 8/22/12 at 10:48am

Hey Patrick, if we have previous WSO Interview packs, would we have to pay any additional fees for the extra/new material?

The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.

WallStreetOasis.com's picture

SonnyZH: Hey Patrick, if we

EN
(Human, 12,074
 
Points)
 on 8/22/12 at 11:14am
SonnyZH:

Hey Patrick, if we have previous WSO Interview packs, would we have to pay any additional fees for the extra/new material?

No, as long as the price is the same (in this case, only the new Behavioral increased in price but we are still giving a copy to those that request it) you can request a new copy from Ivy as mentioned in the OP.

thanks

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esbanker's picture

I'd like to echo the "Don't

PE
(Gorilla, 577
 
Points)
 on 8/22/12 at 11:38am

I'd like to echo the "Don't underestimate behavioral interview questions" especially the most common question of all: "tell me about yourself" or "walk me through your resume."

nailing this question is so important since it will dictate much of the tempo for the rest of the interview. if you answer in a concise, well thought-out, and upbeat manner, then the interviewer is more likely to be positively inclined to you throughout the interview. moreover, the interviewer will be more inclined to look passed a poor answer on a technical question.

keep your answer tight - aim at around 3-4 min - and chronological, with logical transitions that implicitly answer "why" you made each move in your career. lastly, finish off your answer with why your previous experiences make you a great fit for this firm and how this job is inline with your long-term career goals.

get this answer down (practice, but never memorize) and you're about halfway there.

Capitalist

egress's picture

I just bought the new

(Baboon, 169
 
Points)
 on 9/18/12 at 10:40am

I just bought the new Behavioral Guide several days ago, and it's pretty amazing. The sample answers are extremely helpful, if not terribly creative. (The things this sample kid excels at, well, they make it easy to talk about his excellence.) Let's be real, though--these behavioral interview questions are not the right time to get terribly creative.

The best part is that the sample answers give you a sense of the tone you should strike. It's been invaluable. I checked out the BIWS guide before buying this one, since there's a bit of a debate here about which one is better. I haven't seen the previous version of the WSO Behavioral Guide, but the one I bought a few days ago? I think it's better.

WSO Content Intern

Sandhurst's picture

Shameless self promotion. But

IB
(King Kong, 1,239
 
Points)
 on 9/18/12 at 10:28pm

Shameless self promotion.

But for serious, the mock interview prep is worthwhile.

"There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat."

Art.Vandelay's picture

Probably a bad question to

O
 
Points)
 on 9/18/12 at 11:28pm

Probably a bad question to ask people trying to sell the package, but is the behavioral interview guide useful for other interviews besides banking, such as Big 4 accounting, or maybe corp. finance?

egress's picture

The behavioral guide is

(Baboon, 169
 
Points)
 on 9/19/12 at 1:19pm

The behavioral guide is separated into different sections: industry questions, personal questions, situational questions, tricky questions (about you, not about the job), other questions (tell me a joke), and what to ask your interviewer.

I'm thinking that only the industry questions would be different, since that part is meant to gauge how well you know what you're getting into and how well you fit into a specific skill set.

WSO Content Intern

WallStreetOasis.com's picture

Art.Vandelay: Probably a bad

EN
(Human, 12,074
 
Points)
 on 9/20/12 at 12:02am
Art.Vandelay:

Probably a bad question to ask people trying to sell the package, but is the behavioral interview guide useful for other interviews besides banking, such as Big 4 accounting, or maybe corp. finance?

egress got it right...thanks

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Private Certified User Chat

roks's picture

A+ advice

(Chimp, 8
 
Points)
 on 9/22/12 at 11:39pm

A+ advice

Art.Vandelay's picture

WallStreetOasis.com: Art.Va

O
 
Points)
 on 9/23/12 at 2:32am
WallStreetOasis.com:
Art.Vandelay:

Probably a bad question to ask people trying to sell the package, but is the behavioral interview guide useful for other interviews besides banking, such as Big 4 accounting, or maybe corp. finance?

egress got it right...thanks

Behavioral guide is pretty damn informative and useful, I must say

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